How the hell do you ring up half a billion dollars in debt running an existing race track?

The two race tracks were, as far as I know, always quite profitable (F1 excepted maybe as it always had to be subsidized).

The problem comes from the huge "leisure park" (or NüroDisney) that was built besides the tracks a few years ago. That cost the huge figure of almost half a billion and was never remotely profitable. No attractions, a rollercoaster that never worked and no intelligent concept to attract people from outside the racing community to it (which you would need to make it profitable). With losses piling up each year plus interest on the loans that were incurred, you can see how it got to where we are now.

The thing that really p*** me off is that those who were at the root of the enthusiasm for race driving and motorsport, i.e. those driving on the two tracks, had to pay for this megalomaniac project and its disastrous execution. With crazily expensive Touristenfahrten lap tickets, unaffordable yearly tickets and more and more reduced driving times.

It also often seems the management does not even want to make money - for example they often close down the restaurant besides the Nordschleife when there's a race going on and people really want to eat and drink.